Former 5-Star recruit made the switch from safety to RB last year. Was the most talented back on FSU's roster in my view, despite still learning the position. Extremely natural with the ball in his hands. Explosive and runs with devastating natural power and initiates contact with defenders. Will run away from defenses with great speed. Gains the edge with ease on outside runs. Averaged a little over 8 yards per carry and scored 11 touchdowns. Averaged a TD every 8 carries.. which was best in the country. Williams is primed to break out in 2014. Has the most upside of any running back in college football right now outside of Derrick Henry, and is a threat to make a potential run at back-to-back Heisman Trophies for Florida St. He has that type of ability to unleash.

Another hometown kid that I watched several times when he was in high school in Birmingham. Grew up a huge Auburn fan and still is. However, Auburn and the rest of the SEC wanted him as a DB. Cornhuskers were able to land him by giving him the opportunity to play RB. Beat out more highly recruited backs at Nebraska because of work ethic and attitude. Comes from a tremendous and hard working family. He's the youngest of 9 siblings. Has a sister that played volleyball at Alabama A&M, and brother Muhammed that played football at Alabama St. Nebraska coaches create post-practice drills specifically designed not to tax Abdullah’s legs, because they know he won’t leave the field until he’s among the last to finish working. Best offensive player for Nebraska is also their hardest worker. Nobody in the program denies either account. Volunteered to play CB as a freshman in 2011. Excels as a kick returner, punt returner, catching passes out of the backfield, and running between the tackles. One of the 2 or 3 best All-Purpose backs in the country. He'll be the safest pick among RB's in the draft.

Former 5-Star recruit came in and rushed for over 1,000 yards as a true freshman in the SEC for Auburn. Broke Bo Jackson's freshman record in the process. Helped lead Auburn to an undefeated season and national title as a true freshman, where he took over the game in the second half and dominated Oregon on the ground... won MVP of the BCS National Title Game. This was all just as a freshman. Rushed for over 1,200 yards and 10 TD's as a sophomore for Auburn. That's when things started to come unraveled for Dyer. Was suspended from the team for a violation of team rules.... transferred to Arkansas St. where he ran into trouble with the law while having to sit out a year. Then transferred to Arkansas Baptist where he didn't play football, but earned an Associates Degree in an effort to show that he's learned his lesson and not a bad kid. Transferred to Louisville where he rushed for over 5 yards per carry last year in limited action. Still looks just as good as he did as a freshman. Legs looked fresh. Dynamic bowling ball of a back with powerful legs and extremely difficult to tackle. Has breakaway speed. Dyer is as talented as any back in the country as long as off field troubles remain in his past. #3 Senior back on my board heading into the 2014 season.

Originally committed to Alabama where he redshirted as a freshman in 2010 behind Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, and Eddie Lacy. Transferred to Auburn to be closer to home (Opelika) and to get on the field. Explosive All-Purpose back is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. Averaged nearly 10 yards per carry last year as the spell back to Tre Mason. He'll share carries once again in 2014 with another talented Auburn back in Cameron Artis-Payne. Grant has blazing speed along with a toughness that I like to see in RB's.

Bigelow went undrafted because he doesn't have a true position. Played RB first 2 years before switching to WR last year. No idea what prompted him to declare early, but it was obviously not a good decision. When I don't even know you declare, you probably didn't make a good decision. So be it... I'll take him off.

Since I've made these threads in early spring, a few things have changed. Tony Pierson has been move to WR at Kansas, much like Bigelow was at Cal. Gongbay has been kicked off the team at New Mexico. I'll let these things play out and see what happens.

Bigelow went undrafted because he doesn't have a true position. Played RB first 2 years before switching to WR last year. No idea what prompted him to declare early, but it was obviously not a good decision. When I don't even know you declare, you probably didn't make a good decision. So be it... I'll take him off.

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I don't follow Cal as close as I used to when Jeff Tedford was there but it definitely had something to do with Sonny Dykes & the new coaching staff. Richard Rodgers, Brendan Bigelow, Khiari Fortt, Viliami Moala, Chris McCain, & Kameron Jackson all bolted early for the NFL & none of them should have although Rodgers was drafted a couple rounds higher than projected.

Karlos Williams is as good as an athlete as you will see in college football. I just feel if he's going to be a successful NFL RB he needs to play in a power scheme. In FSU's zone heavy scheme (they basically only run stretch/wide zone and inside zone/iso) he lacks the vision, and decision making to make 1 cut and live with it. In a zone scheme by your 3rd step as you receive the hand off you should already be making a decision. Rather than reading his blocks and the front dictating for him to press it to the outside or put his foot in the ground and get downhill, he seems to predetermine what hole he wants to hit. He did this on multiple occasions against OKLAST. Now is that something that can be learned? I doubt it. Surely you can get better with reps and with him being a 1st year starter it can improve, however I don't feel it can very much. That's why I feel he would be best utilized in a power scheme like SF, IND, etc. than a zone scheme like SEA, CLE, BAL etc.

Karlos Williams is as good as an athlete as you will see in college football. I just feel if he's going to be a successful NFL RB he needs to play in a power scheme. In FSU's zone heavy scheme (they basically only run stretch/wide zone and inside zone/iso) he lacks the vision, and decision making to make 1 cut and live with it. In a zone scheme by your 3rd step as you receive the hand off you should already be making a decision. Rather than reading his blocks and the front dictating for him to press it to the outside or put his foot in the ground and get downhill, he seems to predetermine what hole he wants to hit. He did this on multiple occasions against OKLAST. Now is that something that can be learned? I doubt it. Surely you can get better with reps and with him being a 1st year starter it can improve, however I don't feel it can very much. That's why I feel he would be best utilized in a power scheme like SF, IND, etc. than a zone scheme like SEA, CLE, BAL etc.

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I was a little disappointed with him against OKST. He just seemed indecisive and nervous. He didn't run with authority like he did last year but he didn't start and that's a huge difference. I hope he adjusts but your analysis makes a lot of sense.

It's pretty obvious he's still learning how to be a running back. He's been a starter for all of 4 quarters now. But as you said, Karlos Williams has things that you can't coach. Soft hands and catches the ball naturally, elite size/speed ratio, explosion, and runs with natural power.

FSU's offensive line really struggled against Okie Lite and was the worst unit on the field for either team. Which was a little surprising.

It's pretty obvious he's still learning how to be a running back. He's been a starter for all of 4 quarters now. But as you said, Karlos Williams has things that you can't coach. Soft hands and catches the ball naturally, elite size/speed ratio, explosion, and runs with natural power.

FSU's offensive line really struggled against Okie Lite and was the worst unit on the field for either team. Which was a little surprising.

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You are correct. I was shocked at the penetration and pressure that the Cowboys were able to consistently maintain against a very experienced line. I didn't know if their D line was great or if FSU's line struggled or both? Karlos will be fine but I did expect more. Pender looked much more comfortable but he has always been a RB.

It's pretty obvious he's still learning how to be a running back. He's been a starter for all of 4 quarters now. But as you said, Karlos Williams has things that you can't coach. Soft hands and catches the ball naturally, elite size/speed ratio, explosion, and runs with natural power.

FSU's offensive line really struggled against Okie Lite and was the worst unit on the field for either team. Which was a little surprising.

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I went back today and individually watched Erving, Josue, Barron, Jackson, Hart, O'Leary and then Karlos. I counted 5 poor decisions on zone run plays. In my estimation he left another 25-30 yards on the field. That's with the blocking as it was. It wasn't his fault on the negative runs with 2 minutes left to go, OKST was in a 10 man box and had free runners to the ball. Barron, Jackson, and Hart played really bad. Erving was pretty good in pass pro but not well in the run game. Josue is a beast. I thought O'Leary had a really nice game. Karlos was also playing with the loss of his grandmother so that had to effect him in some way. He played well in the passing game though.

Glad to see you're very high on Ameer Abdullah, for me personally, he is my favorite RB in the draft. His combo of balance/run thru contact added to his vision/know when to hit the gas, makes him very dangerous. Every time I study him, I write down wow, how did he make that cut, or how did he find that sliver of space to exploit. A perfect RB to build an offense around for the inside zone/stretch plays.

I also really like David Cobb, each time I have studied him, I wrote down body blows. Really good vision, can make a cut to create a hole, shows patience to let blocks develop, and always falls forward. Defenses simply stop wanting to tackle him. Ironically for a big back, I think he is much better running from spread sets, I feel like his effectiveness goes down quite a bit when they try to line up and play power.

A guy I really like as a Senior RB, but in a position switch, is David Johnson from Northern Iowa. Easy to see why if you saw him against Iowa, but his receiving ability has long been a strength of his. Us Dolphins fans should be able to see quite a bit of Charles Clay to him, but I think Johnson flashes more natural ball skills. I think a savvy offensive coordinator would be able to make great use of Johnson.

Would love to know if you have personally watched him, amd what your thoughts are if you have.

The problem with FSU's running game and Karlos Williams in particular this year in my opinion is that they're running too much IZ and can't block it correctly. There's no "read" in there for the QB because they just hand it off every time. The defense knows that. The EMOL can just crash down unblocked and stop this play every time.

Karlos Williams runs much better behind a fullback. They just don't do it enough. All you have to do is watch the difference between how he runs from the "I' behind a fullback, and how they waste downs running IZ. It's plain as day.

Williams fits an offense that utilizes a fullback and features staples such as traps and counters.

A guy I really like as a Senior RB, but in a position switch, is David Johnson from Northern Iowa. Easy to see why if you saw him against Iowa, but his receiving ability has long been a strength of his. Us Dolphins fans should be able to see quite a bit of Charles Clay to him, but I think Johnson flashes more natural ball skills. I think a savvy offensive coordinator would be able to make great use of Johnson.

Would love to know if you have personally watched him, amd what your thoughts are if you have.

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I have watched him and the main aspect of his running ability that I noticed is how much he likes the cutback. He's a big back that's going to cutback virtually every carry. Very predictable, but it's been effective for him against FCS competition. Not so much against teams like Iowa.

Obviously has excellent receiving skills out of the backfield. He actually reminds me a little bit of Latavius Murray coming out of UCF.

The problem with FSU's running game and Karlos Williams in particular this year in my opinion is that they're running too much IZ and can't block it correctly. There's no "read" in there for the QB because they just hand it off every time. The defense knows that. The EMOL can just crash down unblocked and stop this play every time.

Karlos Williams runs much better behind a fullback. They just don't do it enough. All you have to do is watch the difference between how he runs from the "I' behind a fullback, and how they waste downs running IZ. It's plain as day.

Williams fits an offense that utilizes a fullback and features staples such as traps and counters.

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You're exactly right. They need to call the pull read. You call it just like normal IZ or OZ, and Jameis pulls it. No one else on the offense knows he's pulling it but Jameis. You can also add in a combination route with the WR to the backside. They also don't call enough boots either.

But as I said earlier in this thread, Karlos isn't best as a zone runner. Put him in the I and let him run powers, counters, toss sweeps, and traps and you will maximize him. I don't see him fitting Miami at all. But a team like SF, IND, that utilizes those types of runs is the best scheme fit for him.

Also they do not do a good job with their combination blocks at all. You'll see Tre looking to climb to the backer and barely give the 3 a stab. **** that backer if you can't get the 3 blocked you don't have a play. I wonder how much of an impact losing Bryan Stork is. I have to question if Austin Barron is correctly making the right calls. The way they block things at times doesn't make sense and when the do call it right they are hell bent on climbing to the 2nd level they forgot about the down lineman.

The production just isn't there this year for Karlos Williams due to several factors, but this kid's talent is just unbelievable. He puts it on display once or twice a game. You have to watch closely or you'll miss it.

He made a short TD run againt Notre Dame that no other back in the country could've made. He broke about 4 tackles and carried 5 defensive ends and LB's on a 2 yard TD run.

Also might be the most underrated back in the country at catching passes out of the backfield. Completely out-fought a ND defensive back for the football than broke loose for a big gain afterwards. This was a bad decision and bad throw by Winston throwing extremely late to the flat....Williams talent bailed FSU's offense out here. Like I said, you really have to watch closely, but you'll see incredible plays by Karlos Williams that are all him that illustrate his talent. Physically, he's just stronger, meaner, and more athletic than everybody else.

The production just isn't there this year for Karlos Williams due to several factors, but this kid's talent is just unbelievable. He puts it on display once or twice a game. You have to watch closely or you'll miss it.

He made a short TD run againt Notre Dame that no other back in the country could've made. He broke about 4 tackles and carried 5 defensive ends and LB's on a 2 yard TD run.

Also might be the most underrated back in the country at catching passes out of the backfield. Completely out-fought a ND defensive back for the football than broke loose for a big gain afterwards. This was a bad decision and bad throw by Winston throwing extremely late to the flat....Williams talent bailed FSU's offense out here. Like I said, you really have to watch closely, but you'll see incredible plays by Karlos Williams that are all him that illustrate his talent. Physically, he's just stronger, meaner, and more athletic than everybody else.

Like I said previously, he runs best behind a fullback or lead blocker. He's going to be most effective in an offense that utilizes pulling lineman or a fullback where he can get right on the hip of his lead blocker and ride him through the hole....then he'll punish second and third level linebackers and safeties with his devastating natural running power and aggression.

The reason for this, and why his production isn't there this year is because despite how incredibly athletic he is, he's a stiff athlete from the hips down. A lot like DeMarco Murray was. He doesn't have the lateral agility to make defenders of equal caliber miss trying to run all the zone plays out of single back sets that FSU likes to run. He can outrun a lot of 'em to the perimeter, but he can't change directions and make 'em miss on a cutback. He's just stiff in his hips and it's obvious when you watch him run. Those stiff hips are why he didn't work out as a defensive back and made the move to RB in the first place.

Florida St. has other backs that are more adept for this style of running, although not as talented as Karlos Williams. They just don't run out of a two back set enough. They have to get all those WR's and TE's on the field and let Winston throw it around because that's where their talent is. Secondly, they're playing from behind a lot more lately.

If Karlos Williams needs to run behind a fullback to unlock his potential that could be a problem because the NFL only uses a lead-blocking fullback collectively on about 1 out of 3 run plays.

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Well that's true, but I'm not saying he needs to run behind a fullback. Rather, he runs best behind a fullback for FSU, as opposed to lined up in a single back set in a shotgun formation. As I said, he fits best in an offense that features elements of power in terms of pulling lineman and kick out blocks (counters, traps, draws).

There's other ways of utilizing lead blockers without being lined up in a traditional "I" or with a traditional fullback, which seems to be what the NFL prefers.... an H-back serves the same purpose. I don't watch a lot of NFL football, but I'd venture to guess that the small percentage of time that teams do utilize a fullback, they're very successful when they do it. Particularly the teams that are the best at running the football.

I watched a little bit of the Texans/Steelers game last night and the Texans were very successful when Foster ran behind Jay Prosch lined up in a traditional FB formation. Karlos Williams may run fine out of single back set with an H-back offset and with the QB under center... we don't know because we haven't seen it. I'm going to say he can if they're pulling lineman into the hole and running staples of power that I mentioned previously.

Most of these Senior RB's that are extremely productive and have been for some time are all terrific backs, but they maxed out in college. They're not as talented or physically gifted as a kid like Karlos Williams. I think his upside is tremendous at the next level because FSU simply hasn't tapped into his potential as a runner. I hope the league isn't surprised if he comes in and explodes by year 2.